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Hello list members:
This is something which I have been working on for some time. I hope
it is acceptable to post the full text here. For those interested in
or sympathetic to the deep ecology movement the publication of these
_Selected Works_ of Arne Naes is an event of some importance. My
Critical Appreciation, which was written to make this event more
widely known, is now on our web site at
http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/Naess_Appreciation.html
Please feel free to repost this in whole or part should anyone so desire.
Best and for the Earth, David Orton
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A Critical Appreciation
The Selected Works of Arne Naess
By
David Orton
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The Selected Works of Arne Naess,
Volumes 1-10
Edited by Harold Glasser with assistance
from Alan Drengson in cooperation with
the author, Springer, The Netherlands, 2005,
approx. 3650 pages, hardcover,
ISBN: 1-4020-3727-9.
(Publication made possible through a grant
from the Foundation for Deep Ecology.
The individual volumes are not available
separately, the whole set must be purchased.
The current price for all the volumes from
the publisher Springer is US $1,900.)
"The establishment of a green society presupposes
the implementation of the necessary
changes suggested in the deep ecology formulation."
(Volume Ten, p.574)
Introduction
The Selected Works of Arne Naess in ten volumes have
recently been published and made
available to me. I am a supporter and proponent of deep
ecology and am interested in theoretical
(and practical) questions, but I am not into deep ecology
hagiography. I found that there is a tone,
by the academics who have helped put this work together, of
being in the presence of sacred texts.
Mine is a supportive but critical perspective towards this
philosophy, which is so important for
humankind, in trying to work out a new and sustainable
relationship with the natural world. This
appreciation and evaluation of the Selected Works are from a
movement and activist perspective.
Arne Naess (born in 1912) is the Norwegian founder and
intellectual father of the deep ecology
movement. Naess did not "invent" deep ecology, it existed
before him as a way for humans to
approach and coexist with the natural world. But he did give
this eco-philosophy a name and an
overall theoretical framework. Naess himself uses the 1962
publication of Rachel Carson's Silent
Spring, as marking the start of the international movement
of deep ecology. This philosophy orients
many in the green and environmental movements and some
deeper electoral greens (for example,
in the Canadian federal Green Party). Naess began his
ecophilosophy writings in the mid 1960s.
Naess says that after he gives a talk on deep ecology,
people often come up to him and say,
"'That's exactly what I have felt for many years but did not
find ways to express!'"
(Volume Ten, pp. 544-545)
The titles of the various volumes are given below:
- Volume One, Interpretation and Preciseness: A Contribution
to the Theory of
Communication, 522 pages.
- Volume Two, Scepticism: Wonder and Joy of a Wandering
Seeker, 174 pages.
- Volume Three, Which World Is the Real One? Inquiry into
Comprehensive Systems,
Cultures, and Philosophies, 172 pages.
- Volume Four, The Pluralist and Possibilist: Aspects of the
Scientific Enterprise, Rich
Descriptions, Abundant Choices, and Open Futures, 162 pages.
- Volume Five, Gandhi and Group Conflict: Exploration of
Nonviolent Resistance,
Satyagraha, 188 pages.
- Volume Six, Freedom, Emotion and Self-Subsistence: The
Structure of a Central Part
of Spinoza's Ethics, 156 pages.
- Volume Seven, Communication and Argument: Elements of
Applied Semantics, 120 pages.
- Volume Eight, Common Sense, Knowledge, and Truth: Open
Inquiry in a Pluralistic
World, Selected Papers, 380 pages.
- Volume Nine, Reason, Democracy, and Science: Understanding
Among Conflicting
Worldviews, Selected Papers, 370 pages.
- Volume Ten, Deep Ecology of Wisdom: Explorations in
Unities of Nature and Cultures,
Selected Papers, 688 pages.
DISCUSSION
I would have liked the volumes to have been selected to
focus on his more readable deep ecology
writings. There is too much of the focus in The Selected
Works on the overall philosophical
unfolding of Naess, going back to published writings of the
1930s. This philosophical work is of
course distinguished. However, it is often relatively
incomprehensible to someone like me, and, in my
opinion, is of minor interest for deep ecology movement activists.
For a similar example, contrast the two books by the
late Australian deep ecologist Richard Sylvan.
Contrast Sylvan's co-authored important and easily readable
The Greening of Ethics: From
Human Chauvinism to Deep-Green Theory, with his
incomprehensible book, to the non-
professional philosopher, Transcendental Metaphysics: From
Radical to Deep Plurallism.
Sylvan, like Naess, has been important for influencing the
emerging theoretical tendency of left
biocentrism - a kind of left wing of the deep ecology
movement with which I am involved. It says
that social justice is a necessary part of creating an
ecocentric society, and that it needs to also
be anti-industrial and anti-capitalist. (For an excellent,
brief introduction to the various ethical
flavours within the Green movement, including left
biocentrism, see the 2006 book by British-
based academic Patrick Curry, Ecological Ethics: An Introduction.)
Arne Naess notes in Volume Ten of The Selected Works:
"The deep ecology movement faces a danger of being too
closely associated with the
small group of deep ecology theorists, thereby obstructing
the insight that the
overwhelming mass of supporters do not publish papers or
speak over the radio.
These supporters form the backbone of the movement. Their
commitment manifests
itself in the direct actions going on all over the world."
(pp. 327-328)
Unfortunately, it is academic theorists who seem to have put
their own priorities on The
Selected Works.
Academics
Naess, now in his early 90s, obtained his PhD at age 24
and by the age of 27 took the
Chair of Philosophy at Oslo University in Norway. He has
been very influenced in his thinking
by Spinoza, by Gandhi who concentrated on human beings, and
by analytical philosophy.
He supports what he calls "radical pluralism." This is all
reflected in The Selected Works.
On Spinoza, with his basic view of "the immanence of God
in Nature" (Volume Ten, p.
383), Naess said: "I know of no philosopher after Spinoza
from whom people can learn
as much of significance for our life and community."
(Volume Nine, p.235) Yet Naess
points out that Spinoza was not a friend of animals and had
no view of animals as part of
human society. (Volume Ten, p. 631, footnote)
On Gandhi, Naess sees Gandhian thinking - with its
stress on "the oneness and divine
nature of all beings", non-violence, being resolute, and
having the willingness to compromise
on non-essentials - as influential for his own work and that
of the deep ecology movement.
The Selected Works contains published and previously
unpublished papers by Arne Naess.
However, a number of the deep ecology related articles are
quite well known and have been
previously published in texts like Deep Ecology for The 21st
Century: Readings on The
Philosophy and Practice of The New Environmentalism. Naess
considers all his writings
"works in progress", subject to revision, so there are no
final drafts. This made putting together
The Selected Works, with the active participation of Naess,
a lengthy affair. There is a 46-
page "Series Editor's Introduction" by Harold Glasser, which
I found quite helpful. Glasser
himself notes that "Naess's prose can be dense and opaque,
if not downright confusing."
(p. xxix, "Series Editor's Introduction", Volume One) What
is odd is that this Introduction
is repeated in each of the ten volumes of The Selected
Works, which are not sold separately.
Six of the volumes in the ten-volume set are less than 200
pages in length. Repeating the
Introduction must not only have made for extra printing
expense, but brings undue prominence
to the views of Harold Glasser, when the focus should be on
Naess himself.
In Volume Nine, Naess outlines how his enthusiasm for
science has disappeared because he
has come to see what he calls the "dark side" of scientific
work. Most activists in the
environmental and green movements have their own experiences
of going up against environmental
atrocities which are justified in the name of science. Naess
outlines 13 major criticisms that have
been made by others about science, which he believes have
some merit, if carefully reformulated.
These were first published by him in 1975 in the philosophy
journal Inquiry. (See Volume Nine,
pp. 184-186)
Early Retirement
Naess retired at age 57, in order to concentrate on deep
ecology-inspired work. In the 1930s,
he built a work and living hut high in the Norwegian
mountains (Hallingskarvet Mountain), where
he wrote many of his articles and books. This "in place"
mountain refuge has deeply influenced
much of his thinking and writing. It also illustrates his
field naturalist abilities, which became
reflected in his writings. Living in place in the Norwegian
mountains means for him a concentration
on "what is essential" and fosters "modesty", a "disregard
of luxury" and "self-sufficiency."
(Volume Ten, p. 367) For Naess, "Humanity today suffers from
a place-corrosive process."
(Ibid., p. 339) Naess is also a mountaineer, with a lot of
climbs both in Norway and in other
countries. In climbing, it was not reaching the top of the
mountain that had priority for the group
involved, but "what ultimately mattered should be the way of
life during the expedition."
(Ibid., p. 370)
Two Key Volumes
From an activist perspective, there are two key volumes
in The Selected Works. Many pages
of notes can be made by studying them. The most important
and comprehensive is Volume Ten
(fortunately the largest volume in the set, some 687 pages),
called Deep Ecology of Wisdom:
Explorations in Unities of Nature and Cultures, Selected
Papers. Volume Ten was edited
by North American deep ecology academics Harold Glasser and
Alan Drengson, in cooperation
with Arne Naess himself, with assistance from Bill Devall
and George Sessions. It has a
comprehensive, useful bibliography going back to the 1930s,
of writings by Naess in English.
Volume Ten will become for deep ecology activists a text of
comparable importance, to the
important 1989 deep ecology "primer" book
<file:///c:/WINDOWS/Profiles/David/Desktop/Green%20Web%20Home%20Pages/Ecology,_community_and_lifestyle.html>Ecology,
community and lifestyle. This later
book is not part of the selected works, although some of its
content is.
Reading Volume Ten, one is continually reminded of the
"wisdom" of Naess and how he forces
us to look at situations and language is a deeper way. For
example, consider "intrinsic value",
which is the key building stone in point one of the
eight-point
<file:///c:/WINDOWS/Profiles/David/Desktop/Green%20Web%20Home%20Pages/DE-Platform.html>Deep
Ecology Platform:
"According to point 1, there is a value that is the same for
every human being, namely
intrinsic value. This is squarely an antifascist position.
It is incompatible with fascist
racism and fascist nationalism, and also with the special
ethical status accorded the
(supreme) Leader." (p. 95)
Volume Five (188 pages), the second key volume, is
devoted to Gandhi. This volume is called
Gandhi and Group Conflict: Explorations of Nonviolent
Resistance, Satyagraha. There
I found out that the key concept for Naess,
Self-realization, is taken directly from Gandhi. Also,
for Gandhi, cowardice, as Naess points out in quoting him,
was considered a greater threat than
violence: "'I believe that, where there is only a choice
between cowardice and violence, I
would advise violence.'" (Volume Five, p. 111) For Gandhi,
as for Naess, that people have
self-respect is a precondition for non-violent social
mobilization. This means that one of the
responsibilities of an organizer is to bring about programs
which foster self-respect.
Volume Five shows how Gandhi has influenced Naess's
views, on the way green and
environmental activists should conduct themselves in field
campaigns. From my perspective,
this advice is sometimes mistaken, as he advocates
maximizing contact with our opponents in
ecological and other struggles. A social harmony model of
social change is put forward. In this
metaphysical view of the world, for Naess there are no
enemies or Earth destroyers. This
seems to me in opposition to the social conflict change
model, more appropriate in my view,
put forward by fellow Norwegian Sigmund Kvaloy, who was
influenced by Gandhi but also
by Marx. Personally, I believe, as does any supporter of
deep ecology, in the oneness of all life,
as put forward by Gandhi and Naess. But there are still
enemies - opponents in our ecological
and social struggles - from whom we should keep our
distance, as we combat their Earth and
socially destructive policies. There is a side of Naess, of
turning the other cheek, often justified
as deriving from Gandhi, which can be quite disconcerting
and off-putting for someone like
myself: "I always had excellent relations with the police,
being arrested several times.
I said, 'I'm sorry I have to do this. I'm sorry, I have to
lie down.'" (Volume Nine, p. 330)
Green Politics
Volumes Ten and Five will be important for those who
support green politics. Green societies
must resolve not only ecological problems, but also social
justice and peace problems. Changing
attitudes towards nature in the industrialized countries
like Canada is fundamental, for the deep
ecology movement to attain sustainability. However, all
countries are "developing" in ecologically
unsustainable ways. More global trade, and the increased
mobility of goods and people, mean
that ecological problems will increase.
For Naess, green politics means the elimination of class
difference, globally, nationally, and locally.
For him, "The direction is revolutionary, the steps are
reformatory." (Volume Ten, p. 216) He
notes that, within green parties, being clear about the
differences between fundamentalist and
pragmatist positions will minimize internal strife. Also, he
states that compromises will need to be
made: "Fundamentalists take a hard stand on ecological
issues; pragmatists are willing to
consider compromises for social justice's sake, for
example." (Volume Ten, p. 197)
Being a deep ecology so-called fundamentalist myself, I
am willing to compromise on non-essentials,
but not on matters of principle, such as whether or not the
Canadian Green Party should support
Canadian troops as part of a military occupation of
Afghanistan. There are some contrasting positions,
between which bridges cannot be built. As fellow Norwegian
Sigmund Kvaloy has noted, polarization
is often good, it being a way to bring about deeper
discussions and reveal where people actually
stand on matters of substance.
Another important quote for supporters of green
electoral politics: "It is essential for supporters
of green politics to maintain and show that they cannot be
placed on the line between red and
blue." (Volume Ten, p. 203)
Greens who are supporters of deep ecology must be open
to the lessons that can be learned from
social ecology and ecofeminism. Naess says: "I think that
the deep ecology approach includes
what we think is important in the social ecology movements,
and also important things in
ecofeminism. We are so grateful to work with these ideas.
Deep ecology supporters must
acknowledge that we sometimes have a one-sided view."
(Volume Nine, p. 319)
The Canadian federal Green Party, which is currently the
fourth largest political party in Canada,
polling over four per cent of the vote in two recent federal
elections, has claimed that it supports
deep ecology, as in the 2004 Election Platform (although the
dominant ecological flavour within the
party is light green). Light greens are supporters of what
Naess calls shallow ecology: "The
supporters of shallow ecology think that reforming human
relations toward nature can be
done within the existing structure of society. They propose
to make small changes here and
there within the institutions; they suggest technical
development to reduce pollution. They
don't get down to the basics because they think that
business can continue as usual."
(Volume Ten, p. 16)
The light green approach can be seen in the 2006 federal
Election Platform of the Green Party
of Canada. This Platform did not convey the depth of the
crisis facing industrial capitalist society
and the basic ecological unsustainability of capitalism,
based as it is on increasing growth and
consumerism. It also did not convey the kind of measures
necessary to orient to a truly sustainable
path. The 2006 Platform did not mention deep ecology and was
quite human-centered; it did not
call for population reduction and a reduction in material
living standard; it supported carbon
emissions trading; and it put forward "tax shifting" as an
allegedly painless eco-capitalist path
forward. But the Green Party does have a spokesperson for
deep ecology in its shadow cabinet
(myself). From my perspective, as opposed to other bourgeois
parties, voting for any deep green
party should mean voting for humans to make peace with
Nature before it is too late. It should
mean voting for the trees, for the birds and for the other
animals. It should mean voting for the
rivers and mountains, and for clean air and for clean water.
Biocentrism and Ecocentrism, a Contradiction?
Naess would perhaps call this a pseudo-disagreement and
not a real disagreement. Naess
dealt with this point in a 1987 Schumacher lecture: "In the
biocentric movement we are
biocentric or ecocentric. For us it is the ecosphere, the
whole planet, Gaia, that is the
basic unit, and every living being has an intrinsic value."
(Volume Ten, p. 18)
In another statement, he illustrates how he uses "bio"
or "life": "I use the term life in a
broad sense common in everyday speech, and may therefore
speak of landscapes and
larger systems of the ecosphere as 'living' - ultimately
speaking of the life of the planet.
The biospheric point of view ... is not a narrower point of
view than the ecospheric
because bios is used in a broad sense." (Volume Ten, p.618, footnote)
Within the deep ecology movement, the terms biocentrism
and ecocentrism are used
interchangeably, as also within the theoretical tendency of
left biocentrism. In the green and
environmental movements, biocentric is the more frequently
used term by those who orient to
deep ecology, yet the slogan Earth First! is very widely
supported and the term ecocentrism
also has currency.
CONCLUSION
I should note that my copy of The Selected Works of Arne
Naess was most generously
donated to me by the Foundation of Deep Ecology. This
appreciation is unsolicited and written
to make the availability of these volumes better known to
the green and environmental
communities, who are influenced or sympathetic to the deep
ecology philosophy. The project to
produce The Selected Works was initiated in 1994 and took
about ten years, to come to a
publishing fruition. Despite the criticisms that can be
made, I personally would like to thank all
those who worked to make these volumes available to all of us.
On another occasion I intend to update, in light of The
Selected Works, the
"Discontinuities of Left Biocentrism with Deep Ecology"
outlined in a preliminary manner
in the 1998 Green Web Bulletin #63,
<file:///c:/WINDOWS/Profiles/David/Desktop/Green%20Web%20Home%20Pages/GW63-Path.html>My
Path to Left Biocentrism: Part 1 - The Theory
For myself, there are some theoretical disagreements
with deep ecology as outlined by Naess,
which can be raised by those otherwise in general support of
this philosophy. For example, I
disagree with his view in Volume Ten that the concept of
sustainable development should "be
greeted with joy and expectation"(p. 575) by the deep
ecology movement, and with Naess's
general ambiguity regarding the sustainable development
attack on the "limits to growth"
perspective. The practical advice on how to conduct actual
campaigns in the ecology, peace and
social justice movements, for which Naess claims a Gandhian
influence, seems to me quite often
off-base and undermining if one took the advice to heart.
Yet I remain an overall admirer and
supporter of Arne Naess and the deep ecology philosophy
which he inspired, to provide a
philosophical soul and theoretical orientation for green ecopolitics.
We want, as greens influenced by deep ecology, to
de-develop industrial capitalist societies.
We want to bring about a new relationship to the Natural
world which is not human-centered,
but all-species centered, and which is also socially just
for the human species. To contribute to
this, I would urge the Foundation for Deep Ecology, or
whoever is responsible, to make volumes
Ten and Five available to be purchased on their own. This
would help the radical environmental
and green movements influenced by deep ecology.
April
2006
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